The present disclosure generally relates to testing and evaluation of subterranean formations and formation fluids and, more particularly, to systems and methods for cleaning a well face during formation testing operations.
It is well known in the subterranean well drilling and completion art to perform tests on formations penetrated by a wellbore. Such tests are typically performed in order to determine geological or other physical properties of the formation and fluids contained therein. Measurements of parameters of the geological formation are typically performed using many devices including downhole formation tester tools. In certain applications, the tools may be used for logging-while-drilling (LWD) or measurement-while drilling (MWD) purposes.
Recent formation tester tools generally have one or more probes for collecting samples of the formation fluids and may contain chambers for storage of the collected fluid samples. To collect samples, the probes form a sealing surface with a wellbore wall and pump formation fluids out of the formation for testing. To make an effective seal, the probes must penetrate through a drilling mud layer before reaching the wellbore wall. The drilling mud layer may compromise the seal between the probes and the wellbore wall and contaminate the sample with drilling mud. It is desirable to increase the efficacy of the formation tester tools by creating a stronger seal between the probes and the wellbore wall, thereby insuring a more accurate, less contaminated sample of formation fluids. Additionally, it is desirable to increase the efficacy of the formation tester tools by providing for repeated uses without extraction.
While embodiments of this disclosure have been depicted and described and are defined by reference to exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, such references do not imply a limitation on the disclosure, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modification, alteration, and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those skilled in the pertinent art and having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described embodiments of this disclosure are examples only, and not exhaustive of the scope of the disclosure.